Global Competition

Chinese carriers must transform their outdated business models to truly compete with the world’s leading airlines.

A determination by Beijing to turn the country into a global aviation power has turned a spotlight on the international prospects of China’s carriers. Typical of Chinese thinking, long-term goals are being set. “By 2030, China is set to achieve the historical transformation from a big aviation nation into a strong aviation nation,” China’s Civil Aviation Administration minister Li Jiaxiang said earlier this year. So Beijing’s ambitions are clear and high, ...